In a Call to the Ministry

Driving home: few things are more crucial to the well-being of God's people than the quality of its spiritual leaders.

The history of Israel under the Judges, Kings, and Prophets, as well as Christ's condemnation of leaders in Matthew 23, illustrates that the quality of spiritual leaders directly impacts the well-being or tragedy of God's people.

Now as we take up this vital issue, let me remind you by way of introduction that according to the scriptures, and it is vividly enforced in the history of the church, it is a fact that few things are more crucial to the well-being of God's people than the quality of its spiritual leaders. When the spiritual leaders are marked by vital godliness, spiritual wisdom, competence of gift, and moral courage, it will usually result in a period of blessing for the people of God.

9:04 - 9:47 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The first agent in preliminary recognition is the man himself, through sober self-assessment of his divine giftedness, as expounded from Romans 12:3-8. Martin warns against pride…

God does not send ministers 'wrapped up like a birthday gift' or with a 'white-hot branding iron' on their forehead, illustrating that recognition of a call to ministry is a process involving human discernment, not miraculous signs.

While the Lord fulfills his promise to give shepherds after his own heart, he does not mark them out and send them to us all wrapped up like a birthday gift with a tag on them. Here is a shepherd who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. Nor does he send an angel down from heaven with a white-hot branding iron with the letters G.O.C.

18:34 - 19:10 Read in full sermon

The point: Undergo a process of sober self-assessment of divine giftedness to ascertain if Christ is making you a shepherd.

Alluding to a hymn about self-abandonment, Martin suggests that a man undergoing self-assessment for ministry should have a heart prepared to prove God's will, whatever it is.

Verses 3 and following assume a man can sing hymn number 444. Little place, if thou be gore. The sins about the ministry have been buried.

23:47 - 24:19 Read in full sermon

The point: Undergo a process of sober self-assessment of divine giftedness to ascertain if Christ is making you a shepherd.

Professor Murray's comments on Romans 12 are quoted to define pride as 'coveting or exercising a prerogative that does not belong to us,' which helps explain why sober self-assessment is crucial to avoid self-exaltation in discerning a call.

Professor Murray's comments on this passage are most perceptive. Why does the apostle say to think soberly? Be in touch with reality. He says one of the ways in which the design contemplated by the apostle is frustrated is by the sin of pride.

24:56 - 25:17 Read in full sermon

The point: Pray for God to raise up and send forth laborers into the harvest.

The story of a king who rejected wise, mature counselors for young buddies who agreed with him illustrates the danger of seeking confirmation rather than genuine counsel, especially for men itching for ministry.

Not in the multitude of any kind of counselors. Remember the king who sought out the wise mature counselors and he didn't like what they said. He was looking for confirmation not counsel. So he got his young buddies and they agreed with him and he said I'll do what they say.

30:30 - 30:44 Read in full sermon

The point: Avail yourself of the multitude of counselors (godly, discerning people) to establish your purposes and validate your self-assessment.

A.W. Tozer's statement, 'whenever I take counsel from a man I look for the oil on his forehead,' emphasizes the importance of seeking counsel only from those who demonstrate genuine godliness and spiritual maturity.

So when the Bible says multitude of counselors that's not an unqualified multitude it better be counselors as A.W. Tozer said whenever I take counsel from a man I look for the oil on his forehead.

31:00 - 31:12 Read in full sermon

The point: If you feel a call to ministry, engage in serious, intense self-evaluation, seek out mature brothers and sisters for honest feedback, and then present your conclusions to your elders for objective testing against God's W…

A humorous anecdote about a young man claiming a 'Morse code flutter' in his ventricle as a call to ministry illustrates the church's rejection of subjective, unbiblical claims to a call, in favor of objective standards.

We do not come apart at the scenes as a group of elders when a young man comes saying I felt the flutter it was in my right ventricle 3.33 in the morning and as I put my hand in my heart I realized it was Morse code and when I wrote it down and I deciphered it it said George go preach the gospel we don't fall on our knees and say hallelujah God's called it God's called it no they don't work that way Morse code or not because there's no warrant for that in the word of God no warrant

38:59 - 39:43 Read in full sermon

The point: If you feel a call to ministry, engage in serious, intense self-evaluation, seek out mature brothers and sisters for honest feedback, and then present your conclusions to your elders for objective testing against God's W…

Samuel Miller's illustration of sending 'wise and skillful physicians' versus 'miserable quacks' to a population with a mortal disease is quoted to argue that the quality of ministers is far more critical than mere quantity.

yet Miller was convinced that the quality of the ministry was more critical than the mere quantity of ministers and to emphasize the point Miller offered the following illustration and observations now this is Miller writing suppose a population of 10,000 families to be laboring under a contagious and mortal disease that's pretty relevant suppose you're in Bangladesh where right now right now cholera is afflicting its thousands would it be better to send among them half a dozen wise and skillful physicians or 50 or even a hundred miserable quacks

43:24 - 44:08 Read in full sermon

The point: If you are in ministry and struggling, put yourself down in a living, viable church to learn more about biblical church life.

The analogy of a mother who has never seen a baby giving birth and not knowing if her child is normal illustrates the pathetic state of ministers who have never been part of a living church and thus lack understanding of healthy church life.

real benevolence where there's real mutual biblical body life one of the most pathetic things is when I try to give counsel to men in the ministry about church matters who've never been in a church they've never been part of the thing they're trying to bring now imagine you mothers if you'd never seen a baby and you went into the labor room and you gave birth to something you held it up and said what is this is this a proper baby if you'd never seen one you wouldn't know that you had some kind of a tragic genetic abnormality and I don't say this to be funny

49:18 - 50:03 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Specialized training, where needed, should be acquired primarily within the context of the church, not exclusively in non-church institutions. Martin explains the purpose of the…

The analogy of someone moving from general computer fascination to specialized training as a systems analyst illustrates the need for concentrated, specialized training (like biblical languages, theology) to overlay general church knowledge for effective ministry.

exclusive agent but primarily for the context of the church as its primary agent you say well why do you need specialized training at all well let me use an illustration here's a guy that buys a a home computer he gets himself a smaller computer and he gets fascinated with it works it up to its capacity and then begins to wonder well you know I've got such facility and capacity in this I think I'd like to go into this field and support my family well he could go around pick up a little knowledge here a little knowledge there but generally speaking what he's going to do if he's going to become ...

53:46 - 54:31 Read in full sermon

Driving home: ordinarily we ought to have compelling reasons to take a man out of the pillar and ground of the truth for his most concentrated period of indoctrination in the truth that doesn't quite make sense to me that's like sayin…

The analogy of training a doctor outside a hospital or doing a residency on a farm watching a veterinarian illustrates the absurdity of training ministers outside the church, which is the 'pillar and ground of the truth'.

in the context of the local church and therefore we are convinced that though there may be an allowable expedient to send a man off to a non-church framework for the acquisition of certain skills that ordinarily we ought to have compelling reasons to take a man out of the pillar and ground of the truth for his most concentrated period of indoctrination in the truth that doesn't quite make sense to me that's like saying train a man in medicine but make sure you take him out of a hospital

58:14 - 58:50 Read in full sermon

Driving home: no voluntary association ought ever to be countenanced which enables men who have no responsibility to the church to interfere with or to govern her affairs

Samuel Miller's statement against 'voluntary association[s]' that interfere with the church's affairs is quoted to support the argument that ministerial training should primarily occur within the church, not in independent institutions.

speak for every man who's labored in the academy with the dual pressure of full pastoral responsibility and academy burdens as well but I'm sure Timothy felt that pressure too so we've got good company this is why we will not ship people off to man made institutions we say again with Samuel Miller this is nothing novel listen to Miller I'm perfectly persuaded it may be laid down as an unqualified rule that no voluntary association ought ever to be countenanced which enables men who have no responsibility to the church to interfere with or to govern her

60:41 - 61:26 Read in full sermon